Life of Pie
by TheBlueJetpack
Summary: 4. Following the events of Racing Hearts and Stage Plight, Luna asks Luan to teach her how to bake an apple pie. Soon, the young teens discuss everything that has transpired over the past month, which prompts Luan to revealing a worrying fear. Can some words of wisdom from her big sister possibly help? After all, it has been a most interesting experience for both of them.
1. The Cart Speaks the Truth

_A/N: So back in February, I published 'Warm Hearts', the sequel to my previous story, 'Mission Accomplished'. It has been one of my favourite pieces to date because it gave me the chance to lay out my interpretation of Luna and Luan's relationship, something that is severely missing from the show and had been piling up in my mind ever since I realized this. I based their relationship purely on what evidence we've seen and NOT seen in the show. One of my favourite things I did in that story was including a few extra details that I like to picture the characters sharing with just each other, unbeknownst to the rest of the family. These minor tidbits add some colourful and interesting insight to character relationships, which is something I love about Fanfiction. As stated in my bio, 'Life of Pie' follows the established timeline, so I recommend you read 'Mission Accomplished' and 'Warm Hearts' first. 'Little Builders' also follows this timeline, chronologically occurring before this story, but it's not necessary to read for context._

_At the time I wrote this, the two most anticipated episodes in _The Loud House _history have aired at last and the site I use to view these things actually pairs them up back-to-back. Two romantic-based episodes focusing on my two favourite characters and their respective crushes. Even before I watched them, I wanted to link their events together into a story of my own. It's based off those episodes as well as a few minor things from others such as Luan's exclamation of 'Lulu?' during _Really Loud Music,_ how happy Luna looks while applauding in _Stage Plight, _and Luan's absence in_ Racing Hearts. _You can make a story out of literally anything if you really tried._

_After nearly two years of fans yearning for the siblings' love interests to return in full light since _L is for Love _first aired, the show answered the call and brought back Sam and Benny, albeit a season later. Some people dislike these episodes while the rest of the fans enjoy them. I personally view them partly as fan-service for 'shipping', yes, but more of true development on our beloved characters. We've come a long way from the time I wrote my first Loud House story 'On Top of Vanzilla' where I explained why I had difficulty in accepting Luan as a character and not just a comedic tool. _Stage Plight _completely breaks down that barrier and finally shows Luan in a new light, showcasing her in some new and relatable colours: a side of vulnerability and insecurity, while at the same time the classic Luan we've known for so long. Thankfully, her puns did not overstay their welcome. An awkward teenybopper romantic jam is a very real thing that teens of Luan and Luna's age can face, and putting them in this situation makes it easy for the audience to reach out to the characters. __Overall, it's nice to see romance in the show occasionally, and more importantly on characters other than Lincoln and Lori, who have both gotten so much focus until now. It really is a breath of fresh air to dive into the untapped love life of some other main characters for a change._

_These episodes are in no way perfect, and I have my own opinions on what's wrong and right with them, yet any opinion out there is more genuine than those that state that the episodes deserve 11/10 simply because they're new content. Geez, I hate those senseless ratings. No thought whatsoever except "It's the best episode ever!" Come on, have a little more grit than that._

_I've seen a few people claim that this was "not the Luan they know", but honestly, after most of her featured episodes showcase nothing but pranks and jokes, this was what was really needed to remind us that Luan is, after all, human too. _Head Poet's Anxiety _was the only other time I've felt any real sympathy for her_._ This is fun character expansion and I equally liked Benny's development and 'debut'. In contrast to Sam with Luna, he seems to really reflect Luan in so many ways. Unfortunately, _Stage Plight _felt very rushed (something many of the recent episodes have been suffering from) and it was disappointing that we never saw Luan actually performing in the play itself, but_ _it's still a ground-breaking episode and one of the sweeter ones out there. Of course, there are several elements that I wished was in the actual episode, some of which are used in my story below. That's another reason why I love Fanfiction. Your imagination is truly the limit._

Racing Hearts _was another dynamic episode and one I liked a whole lot. The absence of the music-theme for all 'Luna-centric' episodes is present for the first time ever and has a huge advantage for this episode. Not only does it prove that not all Luna episodes have to be musically based, but also gave the chance for some deeper development in Luna's character in another dimension, much like Luan. Sam's 'debut' was also a ton of fun and her interactions with Luna were nothing short of sweet. Her new voice was also quite fitting._

_Comparing these two episodes together, one major thing that I find interesting is how Luna confided to her older sisters about her romantic problems __**(thumbs-up for much-needed sibling interactions)**__ while Luan talked to her puppet the whole way. While I would have loved Luan to also seek advice from her older sisters, somehow Luan's lower levels of maturity make it acceptable to be talking to her toy rather than real people; my headcanon has always been lingering on the popular theory that Luan is a bit on the socially-awkward spectrum. So in the end, using Mr. Coconuts as a counselor worked enough for me to give that a pass, but only just. That too is brought up in my story._

_Also worth mentioning, the coffee scene was lightly adopted from an incomplete and forgotten story I came across on an obscure site. No idea what it was, but the start-off was rather sweet. If you're out there, author unknown, credit goes to you._

_Hope you enjoy this multi-chapter production. See if you can spot all the references to past episodes, as I traditionally accept everything that happens on the show, the good and the bad, and try to write around it. Here's to an awesome season of _The Loud House.

_And now, our freakin' presentation!_

* * *

Life of Pie

March 8, 2019 – April 20, 2019

**Chapter 1 – The Cart Speaks the Truth**

Ask Luan what classified as being 'funny' and you would immediately wish you had thought to grab some popcorn and a soda first. Or perhaps even a pillow. Whatever items that may allow you to get comfortable, you should be fully prepared for a speech, no, a seminar from the queen of comedy herself. She would go into every fine detail of exactly what fell under the world's broad category of 'funny', covering a wide range of topics from when the time was just right to crack a joke to knowing what stunt to pull on your specific audience. She had learned a surprising amount of substance throughout her years in the comedic industry to be able to deliver such a colourful lecture on the ins and outs of her beloved craft.

But Luan would have never given a second of her time to consider love being funny at all. Well, perhaps through observation of Lori's romantic life or perhaps more so with Lincoln's hilarious antics (for it was easy to see that the poor boy was positively clueless with the ladies), then maybe she would reconsider. But the events that had occurred during these last few weeks had turned on a few lights within her to see, and thus understand, love a little bit better.

And looking back, her whole romantic plight did seem a little on the funny side. It was serious, of course, but there were plenty of laughs to be found in that episode, mostly with how she had managed to achieve it.

For Luan Loud, this entire month of May and half of April had been quite the adventure. An adventure of change. An adventure of love. One that she hoped would never stop. She could still remember how it all started like it was just yesterday…

**Six weeks ago:**

"_Really? Then why did you keep finding ways to avoid kissing me?" _

_Luan stared at the boy, the one whom she wanted so desperately to spill out everything she had thought about him for years. Her mind was running in hyperdrive, but it couldn't put the words that she wanted to say to him in any form of logical speech. She stuttered, felt her cheeks heating up, made some stupid gibberish, but finally gave up trying; she instead resigned to hanging her head in defeat with nothing more than a "Never mind."_

_Sad, lonely, and defeated…was this really how it was to end? Her last sliver of hope that she and Benny could become closer slowly began to fade into oblivion, until the stars in the heavens presented her with one last chance in the form of an alternate entity._

"_She was nervous because she's never kissed anyone before..."_

_Luan gasped. "Mr. Coconuts!" she cried in shock. Her ventriloquist dummy looked at her reproachfully. "What? Someone's got to say it!"_

_The girl looked at Benny knowing he must think her as a complete fool for using her toy to convey her feelings…that is until he reached into his backpack and, with a swift maneuver, whisked out a puppet of his very own. Luan stared at the marionette with complete surprise; did Benny carry this around with him like she did with Mr. Coconuts? Her initial shock only escalated when Benny started operating it with such precision and voice-over talent that was considerably comparable to her own._

"_Well, that's nothing to be ashamed of…Benjamin's never kissed anyone either." Benny gasped dramatically, albeit with less energy than Luan had previously. "Aw, Mrs. Apple Blossom, argh, you weren't supposed to tell!"_

_His puppet shrugged. Mr. Coconuts considered her for a moment before speaking again. "Well, I gotta say that's a load off. Luan didn't want to embarrass herself in front of ol' Benny boy. Just between you and me…(Luan gulped)…she's sweet on the guy."_

_Then Mrs. Apple Blossom giggled. "Really? Heh, Benjamin rather fancies her as well..."_

"_He DOES?" But it wasn't Mr. Coconuts' warbled voice anymore. It was that of his master's. "I mean…you do?" gasped Luan, looking up at Benny with a hopeful smile and a mad blush. And all the anxiety and pain in her heart vanished completely when he gave a confirming nod, smiling and blushing just like her. Time seemed to freeze as the stares they were giving each other suddenly became gazes, with a twinkling look in their eyes that matched the other's perfectly. They giggled sheepishly, but that didn't last long. As if _they _were the dummies being controlled by their human masters, designed to only move upon the guidance of a greater force, both of which seemed to be working upon the exact same script, they simultaneously leaned towards each other and let their lips make contact in unison. Mr. Coconuts and Mrs. Apple Blossom watched with approval._

_After a few seconds, Luan and Benny pulled apart, but their faces still lingered closely together. They stared misty-eyed at each other with giddy smiles, blushes still very present upon their cheeks. Despite feeling lost in a fantasy, Luan finally managed to craft together the words she had wanted to tell the boy for so long._

"_Benny?"_

"_Yes, Luan?"_

"_Would you…I mean…will you…" Luan was positively certain that her cheeks couldn't burn fiercer as she let out the question that had been yanking at her heart and begging to be released before him. "Will you be my Romeo?"_

_Her cheeks instantly felt like they were ablaze with flames when the boy placed his finger beneath her chin, raising it so she could meet his eyes. "Only if you'll be my Juliet."_

**Present day:**

Did she word that question that way to ask if he would reclaim his role in the play? Or was it her clever way of asking him if he would be hers forever?

Ever since that sunny afternoon, and throughout the following weeks of rehearsals leading up to Royal Woods High School's drama production of _Romeo and Juliet_, Luan's mind had transformed into an old VHS player, with all the memories recorded on an ancient tape. She must have hit the 'rewind' and 'play' buttons so many times that the little icons on said buttons had all but faded away. Could you blame her though? She wanted to remember every last detail of her time with Benny for all eternity, from her attempts to avoid kissing him and her deep conversations with Mr. Coconuts, to the shock that Benny had a dummy of his own and the greater shock that he held feelings for her too, to her very first kiss, to the fun they had together during rehearsals, and finally to the magnificent performance that they had starred in as the leads. All these recollections she would replay and relive in her mind day and night for hours. Luckily, she did not have to completely rely on her memory power to keep the experiences fresh. Not that she would be forgetting them anytime soon. She in fact had a second recording method.

At this present moment, in the quiet of early morning near the end of May, with the first rays of sunlight streaming lazily through the bedroom window, Luan was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring at her phone and enjoying the rare silence of the Loud House, as everyone was still in his or her bedroom likely snoozing away. It was Saturday after all, just two days after her big performance to be exact. Ironically, though she was exhausted from the hard work put into prepping for the show, she wasn't resting. Her mind was far too excited to let her sleep any longer and the hidden contents in her phone were just too tempting. She was browsing through the camera feed on her phone, the same phone that she had used to propose a change-up in the play's script to Mrs. Bernardo. Ultimately, that had been sort of a catalyst in uniting her and Benny together, as it was the final straw to be pulled that had prompted the boy to quit the drama, leading to their confessions on that bench outside. The electronic photo album was stocked with over two hundred snapshots taken during their rehearsals, each one featuring one or both of the comedic duo: selfies of them dressed up in their costumes, practicing lines together, and fooling around with the stage props. Though he was still a Montague and she had been made a Capulet again, they quickly found out that roleplaying the leads had major perks in that the new couple spent a lot of time practicing together, rather than on opposite sides of the stage as Mrs. Bernardo had initially ordered. In the end, Luan had gotten exactly what she had wanted when she signed her name on the bulletin board: time with Benny. And through this, she had successfully managed to get to know him on a far deeper level, as did he. Throughout all their rehearsals and practice sessions, she had kissed the boy of her dreams more times than she could count, and there was an unfailing passion present within each one. Other than Benny himself, the entre cast simply thought these were stage kisses, mere actions delivered as instructed by the script. She and Benny knew better.

Luan Loud had never felt happier. This was not the same happiness that she felt when she delivered a perfectly-placed pun at the perfect moment (regardless of what anyone with no comedic mind thought) or when she could make the entire audience of an auditorium laugh. This was a very different sort of happiness. One she had observed radiating off of Lori and sometimes Lincoln, but only now had fully felt it for herself. Seeing it and feeling it were two very different experiences.

She gazed dreamily at the current image on her screen; it was of her and Benny posing with the theatre's prop swords. Plastic models like these served to cause zero damage, but the sword grasped in Benny's hand placed strategically between his arm and torso away from the camera played off as if it had really done an authentic job to his chest. Perhaps it was the contorted look of pain painted upon his cute face that conveyed the message so well. Benny was unbelievable in the art of acting, as Luan had quickly discovered. Benny had complimented Luan several times on what a good actress she was…never failing to earn a blush and a bashful grin from the girl.

This was the boy she had been crushing on since they first met while engaged in solo mime routines that had quietly merged into a duet. The only boy she knew besides her father who genuinely enjoyed her humour, and responded back with his own. The boy who had the power to melt her heart to a pool of rich burning lava.

And he was her boyfriend.

Luan set her phone down and sighed dreamily. This whole sensation felt like a dream, really. Like a make-believe story out of a fairy tale and one that she believed. She gazed around the bedroom, suddenly appreciating how beautiful it looked. The early rays of morning sunlight were coating everything with a pleasant yellow glow, like the room was a mine filled with hidden gold waiting to be unearthed and collected. Her eyes trailed everywhere, first at the bulbs of her vanity mirror, the various costumes and bottles of face paints strewn in a disorganized mess, then at Luna's drum set and her acoustic guitar, and finally upon a tattered lavender backpack, which had once doubled as a hand-me-down/birthday present from Luna when she was 11, sitting upon the carpeted floor against the bed. Protruding out of the open zipper tracks was her beloved ventriloquist dummy, who had been more or less than a mentor during her romantic plight. She pulled him out and set him on her thigh.

"Well, didn't I tell ya? I told'ja you were gonna be fine!" the puppet piped up.

Luan smiled down at her dummy, controlling him with such expertise such that he was like an extension of her own limb. "Yeah, you were right, Mr. Coconuts. Thanks for sticking by my side through all that. I really owe you one."

"Aw shucks, toots. Think nothing of it…I told you I was right! But next time, maybe you should consider taking your troubles to somebody else."

Luan blinked. "What do you mean? You were the perfect support!"

Mr. Coconuts shrugged. "Maybe. I just pushed you along. What happens next time when you face _bigger_ problems? Something that only people who have gone through it before you can help you out with. You really should be talking to, oh, I dunno…your older sisters? Or maybe your parents, hmmm? I'm just a dummy made of felt and wood. I'm not even really talking! Just a fragment of your imagination running wild and spit-balling your inner thoughts and crazy desires...that's all I am!"

The girl was about to protest, but she stopped. He did have a point. Since she was now in a relationship, which was surely a big step towards growing up, perhaps this was a good indication that she should put off engaging in childish things. That included talking to inanimate objects.

"Speaking of sisters, when are you gonna tell the others about you and Benny Bean Boy?"

Luan sighed. "Oh, I don't know. Everyone knows I had a huge crush on Benny back then, but that's it. I haven't told anyone that we're a…a thing yet. But knowing my siblings, they'll probably find out anyway. Nothing stays a secret in this house."

"Well, maybe you should tell Lori first. She's the oldest and look how happy she is with that fella of hers. What's his name? Boo Boo Bear or some cheesy yik yak like that?"

She absent-mindedly began to swing her legs over the bedside as she considered this option, the ears of her well-loved bunny slippers waving back and forth from the motions. For a brief moment, she wondered if Benny would think of her as a dork if he were to find out that she wore something so juvenile on a regular basis. "I don't think so…Lori and I aren't really _that_ close. Though I bet she would help me out if I ever had romantic problems. She takes love-business seriously." Luan looked up at the wooden crossbars above her that supported Luna's mattress on the top bunk. She listened to the light snores of her sleeping roommate. "I'll tell Luna first," she decided. "She and I…we get each other."

Mr. Coconuts nodded and became lifeless once more.

* * *

If you saw Luna Loud walking down the street recently, you would have thought Mick Swagger had accepted her as his personal right-hand band mate. With the lightness and skip in her step, you could tell that she was pretty happy. But the reasons for the boost in her joyful demeanor had nothing to do with Mick, nor was it even related to music. Luan wasn't the only one in the Loud family whose romantic life had taken a thrilling leap this month. Luna couldn't remember being so elated in her young life. Not even her exploding success upon the stage for _America's Next Hitmaker_ came even close in comparison to how she had been feeling these past weeks. Thanks to the mishaps and unexpected discoveries during the Royal Woods Astonishing Quest, she and Sam had learned an important lesson. Now they were all the more closer and had been seeing each other more than ever, leading what one could only describe as a very healthy relationship. She loved Sam for who she was, which was exactly what had first drawn Luna to the teal-streaked blonde all those years ago.

Back in April, a month before the Quest, Luna and Luan had originally planned on teaming up to compete together, until the latter suddenly informed the former that she had secured a role in the high school's production of _Romeo and Juliet_ and thus couldn't join her. Although she had been initially surprised at Luan's abrupt decision to swap commitments, Luna had been struck with the idea of inviting Sam to join her on the Quest instead, to which the latter had been more than pleased to accept. They had been trying to arrange a date for some time and this seemed like one heck of a 'date' to go on. Luan, meanwhile, had been too preoccupied with her rehearsals for the big play and didn't have much time to talk to Luna even after the Quest was over. Even at nights when they were alone in their bedroom, Luna left her little sister alone as she continuously mumbled quietly to herself, most likely practicing lines again and again. With the way Luan's face had always been screwed up hard in concentration, and how she had kept fidgeting at mealtimes, Luna had figured she was feverishly working on perfecting her role as Juliet and therefore didn't feel any reason to give her sister too much worry. After all, Luna herself always needed to enter her own zone to prepare herself before going on stage.

Of course, Luna had no idea that more than half of the things going on in Luan's head those nights weren't even related to rehearsals, but instead on something (or rather someone) else.

But this was all several weeks ago. By then, Luan had been well engrossed in her character development for the performance. The closer that opening night approached, the more frequently she requested Luna to be her audience, to which Luna simply sat quietly on Luan's bed and watched her sister transform into the Capulet girl she was striving to become. Pretty soon, the whole family was sitting in their bedroom to watch her, making it rather crowded. The rocker remembered just a couple days ago when it all came down to her sitting in the squashy auditorium seat and watching her little sister perform on stage. She felt so proud of her, and couldn't help but gush with sisterly affection as she witnessed Luan kiss her long-time crush Benny. Boy oh boy, was Luan in for a never-ending dosage of teasing after this, just you wait.

Right now, Luna was dozing happily in the top half of the bunk bed, enjoying a particularly pleasant dream. She and Sam were rocking out on stage before the biggest crowd you had ever seen. It was totally rad, totally awesome…totally romantic. But of course, like all dreams, the owner has to wake up sometime, more often than not at the best moments of the show. And only if you are lucky enough can you recall exactly what you dreamed about. Just as the two musicians were about to kiss for the entire world to see, reality-Luna's eyes fluttered open, and to her disappointment, found that she was not on stage, but very much in bed and could not remember much of her fantasy performance. "Aw, bogus," she muttered out loud. She sat up and stretched, and despite still feeling groggy with sleep, she sensed that her movements were being monitored. Her sleepy eyes squinted past her feet and saw at the end of the bed, her roommate standing halfway up the ladder, watching her with a wide grin on her youthful face.

"Morning sleepy-head!" she chirped. Luna rubbed her eyes and delivered a small smile back. "Hey dude," she murmured. "What's happening?"

"Not much. I can see that you're _tired of sleep_ though. Get it?" asked Luan as she laughed. Luna just groaned; it was a little too early for this. Typical Luan, always there to greet you in the morning with a cheery face and a terrible pun. "Good morning to you too, brah."

Her mild annoyance dissipated as Luan slowly climbed the rest of the ladder and knee-walked her way towards Luna, carefully cradling a steaming mug sporting a cursive 'L' in purple. The musician looked pleasantly surprised. "Coffee too? Wow, you're in a good mood today. Cheers."

She shrugged as she handed Luna the drink and took a seat on the edge of the bunk. "Ah, well, you know…just my way to 'coffee' up a little gratitude!" She laughed loudly as Luna took a sip and gave her a puzzled look. "What for?"

"For putting up with me while I rehearsed, silly."

Luna placed the mug on the small bedside shelf along the wall, which had recently been built for her use. "Oh, you mean the audience biz? Aw, it was nothing. Fact is, I enjoyed watching you get into character. You really fit the part, you know? So, really, no burden at all." She slid herself closer to the wall as she lay her head back down upon her pillow and patted the now-empty half of her bed, a kindly gesture that Luan quickly responded to by laying down beneath the covers next to her, sharing half the pillow and enjoying Luna's body heat for a minute or two. Even with the weight of an additional person, the bunk stood firm. Luan always preferred the lower bunk, finding sleeping so high a bit unsettling for her, yet she was willing to lend her bed to Luna if the latter ever felt ill and too weak to climb the ladder. In contrast, Luna liked the top bunk, treating it like her own private penthouse. Good thing she wasn't prone to sleep-walking.

Overall, the girls liked their bunk bed; it made them feel close.

"Well, still," Luan continued, "thanks for being my audience. There's a huge difference between going over the lines by yourself and actually acting them out in front of someone."

The soft smile that graced Luan's face was more than enough to tell Luna that her little sister was truly grateful for even her mere presence this past month and a half alone. She had lived with both her and the world of music long enough to know that sometimes having a warm body (both metaphorically and physically) was all you could really provide as a helping hand to an artist prepping herself to set foot on stage. With her elbow propped on her pillow and the side of her head resting upon her hand, she gazed lazily across at her sister. "I totally hear what you're laying down, dude. It's the audience that makes the difference. Glad I could help you out."

She nudged Luan's foot. Luan smiled widely, absorbed in Luna's comforting presence. "Anywho, now that the play is done, I can ask you how the Quest went. It was your first date ever with Sam, wasn't it?"

A giddy smile, one that was now very familiar to Luna as of these last few weeks, resurfaced upon her face; blessed memories began taking over once more. "It sure was, dude."

"Well, I bet you musicians had a real heartbeat with each other!" Luan laughed at her own joke for the third time that morning as Luna simply rolled her eyes. It was still too early for this. "But really, how'd it go? Tell me everything!"

Luan never hesitated to ask Luna to spill the beans; they told each other all that went on in their lives. Sharing their struggles, hopes, and greatest joys was what had made them so close and understanding of each other for so long. It's just a special thing that you share with your best friend. What Luan didn't know was that Luna had a little plan of her own already laid out. Ever since the final challenge of the Astonishing Quest, she had made a silent pact with herself to ask Luan to help her out with a special something. Now that she was no longer busy rehearsing, perhaps she could now put aside some time to spend with her older sister. "I'll tell you later, brah. Right now, I gotta ask you something."

The rebounding of the interviewing roles caught Luan by mild surprise laced with disappointment, but she decided that she could hold off in hearing the goods, if only for a few minutes. "Uh, sure, what is it?"

"Can you show me how to bake an apple pie?"

Now she was _really_ surprised, perhaps a little more than she should have been. Growing up in a household of 13 people and numerous pets, it was quite normal for a never-ending string of surprises to rise from the depths every day. Practically everyone had something new to bring to the dinner table or literally through the front door on a regular basis. Luan herself was probably the queen of surprises, being the master prankster of the family after all. But her siblings each led their own life speckled with shocks and jolts, and even after 14 years of growing to be accustomed to all the chaos of daily life in the Loud House, Luan was never taken completely by unsurprise, as some of her siblings' antics brought about unbelievable riches and madness. For some reason, Luna's abrupt request seemed no different. It certainly caught her off-guard. "Bake a…pie? How come? You've never shown interest in baking anything before."

Luna smiled. "Let's just say it has something to do with the Quest. I'll explain that later." She rubbed her sister's shoulder gently. "What do you say, Lulu? It'll give us a chance to hang out together and make a sweet treat for the fam to eat. Lynn finished up the cake yesterday, remember? Help me, and I'll tell you absolutely everything."

If lightbulbs were powered by smiles, their bedroom would be sunlit even without the sun already streaming through the window. Luan's face positively beamed. "Y-Yeah! Sure, that'll be…that'll be fun! Gosh, no one's ever wanted to bake anything with me before!"

"That's 'cuz everyone's afraid you'll just smash it in their face," the rocker remarked.

The comedienne smiled innocently. "It's not that bad of an assumption…ooh, this is so exciting! What do we need? I think we still have some apples, but we probably need more…flour…butter…"

For the next few minutes, Luna watched her sister enthusiastically examine over all the supplies they would need with much amusement as she thought back to what exactly had brought her to ask Luan to teach her how to bake an apple pie…

Though the final challenge of the Astonishing Quest had shown both her and Sam how very little they each knew about baking, the accumulation of all the challenges that day had brought them to the revelation that they could have fun together even without having everything in common. Besides, they still had good old-fashioned music to fill the void if need be. Even so, Luna had never been quite able to stop thinking about that radical feeling in her gut as she lay on the floor covered in batter and laughing with her dear friend, who was equally splattered with the goop. Wouldn't it be nice, she had thought to herself, if one day she could present to Sam a perfect apple pie baked by herself just to mark the anniversary of the Quest and the time they had shared together? She hadn't quite planned it all the way, but for now, just learning how to bake seemed like a suitable place to start. And who better to teach her than their resident baker and her favourite sister, Luan? Yes, the creamy confections she created were mainly for the purpose of hitting an unsuspecting face with, but occasionally she would bake to make an actual dessert for her family, which were undoubtably tasty.

"…yeah, I think we'll need to pick up some stuff first. Let's see if Dad isn't busy. Hope you're up for a 'punny' trip to the grocery store with Dad and me!" Luan told her, interrupting her thoughts. Luna looked at her and gave an easy shrug. "If that's the shazizzle that gets the ball rolling, I'm in," she breezed easily.

* * *

Perhaps Luna wouldn't have been so dismissive towards Luan's warning if she knew exactly what would be included in the packaged deal of visiting the Royal Woods supermarket with Luan and their dad. Despite having grown to be slightly more accustomed to Luan's antics than the rest of their siblings, there were of course limits as to how far Luna could tolerate them. The trip to the store was filled with non-stop pun delivery between Luan and Lynn Sr., so that meant twice as much comedic activity. _Well, now we know where Luan gets her comedy genes from_, she thought as she sat quietly in Vanzilla's rugged seat, letting her two companions laugh away while doing her best not to implode under the madness.

Once at the market, the comedy show didn't stop. If anything, it only escalated. Luan and Lynn Sr. generated puns and jokes out of everything they saw as the three travelled down the aisles, the staff members and other customers shooting them annoyed looks and death-glares. Luan rode on the front of the shopping cart that their dad was pushing while Luna strolled alongside them, offering small apologetic smiles to anyone they passed. They didn't seem to help.

"Hey Luna! What did the carrot say to the wheat?"

Luna looked up, unamused, at Luan. "No clue, sis."

"Lettuce rest…I'm feeling BEET!" Lynn Sr. chimed in as they passed the vegetables.

Luna let out a quiet groan as her sister and dad teared up with laughter. "I'm starting to think I'm the carrot here," she muttered to herself. She eyed Luan's riding position. "Don't you think that's past your time?" she asked her.

Luan frowned at her, looking rather offended. "What? You know I don't pass the chance to crack a good joke. You of all people should know that."

Her older sister shook her head. "Not that. I meant you on the cart. Don't you think you're a little old to be riding it like that?" Such a thought had never occurred to Luan, but she waved her hand passively. "You're never too old to live like you're young. It just makes you feel…'_soup'-_er!" Right as she said it, she whisked a can of mushroom soup off the shelf and held it in front of Luna's face. The rocker rolled her eyes as Luan and Dad went at it again. _Never change, Luan, _she thought.

"Get off," groaned the shopping cart.


	2. Story Exchange

**Chapter 2 - Story Exchange**

Finally, finally, finally, they returned home with all the necessary ingredients that Luna and Luan needed for their pie. By this time, Luna was quite sure that the next time she would agree on another trip to the grocery store with the laughing hyenas that were her father and sister would certainly be when Lola decided to take up learning automobile maintenance. Her headphones and playlist of Mick Swagger's Golden Collection Vol. 3 sure would have came in handy in that last hour.

Joke factory aside, Lynn Sr. collected the groceries he had purchased for dinner and left the girls to sort through their loot and they got right to work soon after. Aprons on, Luan became the chef and Luna her apprentice; together, they dove into the world of baking an apple pie.

Luan was ecstatic. What she had told Luna that morning was true: no one within or outside her family had ever expressed even the slightest desire to bake with her before, let alone ask her to teach them how. She had always wanted to bake with one of her sisters, and so she wanted this afternoon to be just right. Unfortunately, once they got started, it quickly became apparent that Luna did not have a hand in baking whatsoever.

It wasn't as bad as it could be though, as it would undoubtedly be a very different experience if she were to try to teach Leni how to bake. Just witnessing their 16 year-old ditzy, yet sweetly innocent sister trying to thaw a pot of frozen goulash with her hair dryer last winter was enough to prove that this alone would be an episode in its own right. Luan knew very well what it was like to teach one her older siblings the tricks of a trade that she knew by heart. While teaching Leni something new would be the equivalent to teaching a six year-old how to repair a car (excluding Lana of course), teaching Lori would also prove to be a struggle, but for different reasons. Lori wasn't used to being directed by someone 'beneath' her and rarely had the patience to try again after two or three failed attempts.

Luna, however, was a different case, for she was neither Leni nor Lori. She was a fast thinker and learner, with more common sense than Leni and much more perseverance than Lori. Nonetheless, like anything new to her, she needed an expert's watchful guidance to assist. Her first attempt at cracking the eggs resulted in half of the contents actually landing into the mixing bowl and the other half on the countertop. Her dough rolling technique was very sloppy. And the terminology of the instructions was another beast entirely. Though their progress was slow, their pie slowly began to take form, and in all, Luan was enjoying baking with Luna immensely. She was used to being told what to do by her superiors, and her parents didn't exactly trust her to be alone with her younger siblings, thanks to her history of causing mischief. Thus, it was rather nice to be 'in charge' for once. And besides, it felt good to teach Luna something new for a change, after Luna had taught her so much prior, from how to manage high school life to the basics chords on her acoustic guitar.

There are many things in life that have that special magic in bringing those you love closer to you than ever before and can only be released through sharing the journey together, and baking was one of them. It wasn't just Luan who was feeling this special energy; despite her shaky handiwork, Luna was having a pretty good time too. Having the ability to find music in everything and anything, she soon proceeded to sing as she worked, with lyrics that came completely improvised from the heart, with her sister playfully joining her with lyrics of her own invention.

"I tell ya Luna, this is the life. And you wanna know what kind of life?"

Luna probably shouldn't have returned that question. "What kind?"

"Life of pie! Get it?" The usual combination of laughter and groaning filled the air, mixed with the sweet aroma of apple and cinnamon.

**A/N: Here's where I leave the story open to you…how do you think their baking escapades pulled off?**

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With the family's oven containing a pie that was not quite to Luan's standard appearance-wise, but decent enough and far better than anything that Luna could have whipped up alone, the girls then proceeded to restore the messy kitchen to its former glory, a chore that Luan herself had come a long way in learning to do roughly around the time Lincoln had tried to convince his sisters to go green around the house, during which she often made a huge mess of the kitchen when baking her pies. A clean workspace is a safe workspace. Once that was done, they retired to the living room, lounging on the couch with Luna strumming her guitar lightly and Luan sipping at an apple juice box. It was more of a habit really, but whenever the siblings gathered to watch _The Dreamboat _or used the couch for family meetings, Luna and Luan often gave up their cushions for the younger siblings, while they took to leaning on the headrests from behind. That wasn't a rule and they certainly weren't excluded from the ordinary seats, but it was somewhat rare for them both to get to sit on them together.

The conversation that would soon strike up between them would be one that would leave a deep imprint in their hearts for a time far beyond the hour-long baking duration currently on their hands.

"Got to hand it to you dude, that was pretty fun. Thanks for showing me the ropes," Luna said gratefully as she strummed a few chords. "Baking was never really my thing, but you showed me how it can be a real sweet deal!"

Luan sat tall and proud from her roost. "Hey, you know me…always one to _bake_ your day! Get it?" She laughed and Luna rolled her eyes. _Walked right into that one,_ she thought to herself. Her brief thought bubble almost made her miss what Luan was saying next. "…I still don't get why you wanted to learn how to bake a pie though. But you can tell me later. Right now, you have to live up your end of the deal! What's the scoop with you and Sam?! Tell me, tell me, tell me!" The couch creaked loudly, suffering the effects of Luan bouncing rapidly in her seat.

Luna chuckled as she stroked the top rim of her guitar; she was looking forward to killing two birds with one stone. "Alright, Lulu. You're right. You met your end of the bargain. Time for me to finally give you the goods." She pulled the guitar strap over her head, leaning her trusty instrument beside the couch.

"Start all the way from the beginning," ordered Luan as she kicked off her shoes. She sat cross-legged on her end of the couch and rested her chin upon the back of her hands; her big eager eyes staring at Luna intently as if she were staring into a fortune teller's glass orb, revealing the future and all that it held.

This appearance just made Luan look adorable in Luna's eyes, causing her to smirk. "Alright, from the beginning. Well…first there was nothing. A complete boss of total darkness. Then came the dinosaurs who stuck to the water and eventually learned to stand on four legs…"

"Not _that_ beginning_, _you loon," interrupted Luan, mildly irritated, yet clearly trying to hold back her fit of giggles. Sometimes her sister could be funny, like her. _Walked right into that one, _she thought to herself.

Luna was laughing and holding her ribs. It was spark moments like this that reminded her why Luan loved her selected pathway so much. Sometimes, it felt good to be the one to make the other laugh. "Sorry dude. Couldn't resist. Okay, for real this time…"

The wannabe rockstar proceeded to tell her wannabe comedienne of a sister the whole tale. The grand adventure of Luna and Sam was now a chapter book being read aloud, with each chapter focusing on a specific challenge that the girls needed to conquer to finish the Quest, sprinkled with all the fine details that Luan needed to know: how Luna felt, and how she tried her best to not look like a fool in front of her girlfriend and failing miserably in her efforts. Luan was a good audience. She gasped and laughed at all the right moments. She soaked it all in as she listened with earnest and was practically gripping the cushion with horrified eyes when Luna reached the part where she and Sam had decided to complete the Quest only as friends. The relief on Luan's face was as pure as Lily's infant nature when Luna's story drew to a close, with her and Sam deciding to remain united after all and look ahead to discovering new things about each other, hand in hand.

"And that's where we are now," finished Luna with a content smile. She had been staring at a crack in the ceiling as she wrapped up the tale and she then looked down at Luan to gauge her response.

There wasn't much need to, because Luan launched herself at Luna with enough force to push the latter backwards, squashing her back against the cushion. She was squealing like a crazed fangirl, a noise that their brother Lincoln wasn't particularly fond of whenever the sisters overheard him and Ronnie Anne talking over the phone. Hugging Luna tightly, the ponytailed girl giggled happily. "You guys are so cute!" she bubbled. Luna blushed heavily and gave Luan an amused look. "I take it you liked that story, huh?" she snickered. Despite feeling a little flustered, she couldn't help herself from surrendering to Luan's silly gushing. Because in all honesty, she too thought that she and Sam were as cute as cute could be.

Luan finally let go of Luna, sitting back on her end of the couch with a big goofy grin on her face, one that could only be described as sheer happiness for her older sister and intense triumph in finally hearing about Luna's status with Sam, a piece of information she had been wanting to hear for so long now. "So _that's_ why you were suddenly so interested in baking," she stated.

Luna nodded as she sat upright, smoothing out her skirt. "Someday I hope to surprise Sam with a pie I baked myself. To remember that day y'know?"

"Well, you still have a long way to go before you can master the art of baking, but I can teach you again if you'd like," she offered.

Luna smiled. "That'd be totally rad, sis."

The comedienne pressed her palms against her own cheeks as she gushed with glee again. "So does everyone know or was I the one left out?"

Luna shook her head. "Not quite, brah. Lor and Len know, only because they caught me getting ready before the event and pressed it out of me. I'm glad they did, cuz Lori helped me when I was feeling blue about not sharing anything in common with Sam. Some of our other sibs were in the Quest too, but I don't think they were paying attention to notice us. They'll figure out soon enough, I'm sure."

Luan agreed. "Yeah, nothing stays quiet in this house. But this is so exciting! When are you and Sam gonna meet next?"

Her older sister grinned. "We've had a few ideas. There's a small rock concert happening next month at the park. We hang out after school though and I'll tell you a little more later. Right now, though, the time has come to ask _you_ a few things."

Luan tilted her head. "What sort of things?"

Luna adopted a mischievous grin. "Things about your drama. Did you enjoy kissing your _boyfriend, _Juliet?" She then watched with immense satisfaction as Luan's face went full cherry red with a tiny smile. The smile surprised Luna, however. Normally whenever Benny was the topic of discussion between the two of them, Luan would become somewhat gloomy, as Luna knew very well that she was struggling to get to know the teen boy better. The reason for this change in detail, she did not know…yet. No doubt that the school play had altered her sister's current status with Benny and it was time to find out exactly what.

As for Luan, she felt more than butterflies fluttering in her stomach, rather there were birds flapping furiously to escape the internal boundary that was her own body. She had figured that the entire family wanted to know how she felt to kiss her well-known crush Benny up on stage in front of everyone, with Luna being the most eager to hear about it from her. It was just that Luna calling Benny her 'boyfriend' was so ironic. Yes, it was finally time to tell Luna the truth…and she knew just how to deliver the message:

"I guess you could say we were a _couple_ of lovebirds," she giggled. "But believe me when I tell you that what we did on stage was more than just an _act. _Get it?" She skipped the laughter and instead gazed at Luna intently to see if she could riddle her out.

Luna was no longer grinning; now she was frowning, deep in thought. She had been quick to catch on that Luan was doing that thing again. It was her quirky habit of hers of speaking cryptically not in tongue, but with puns, the language Luan was most fluent in. While most of the family simply groaned and ignored her, the purple-clad girl had spent enough time with her little sister to recognize that this was not her usual 'punning'. The jokester would sometimes sprinkle her speech with puns at moments like these when she wanted to say something important. Of course, if the situation warranted seriousness, then Luan would leave aside the puns and speak normally. Luna really did give Luan credit for the cleverness in her speech, but only _after _she had worked out their true meaning.

_Couple of lovebirds…more than just an act…_ Luna thought, analyzing the subtle hints that Luan had dropped. She looked at Luan carefully. There was gleam in her eye unlike any that she had seen her emit before, a look of happiness and immense joy.

Much like the look that Luna herself had been having all month.

"Dude…" she gasped as it hit her. "You mean…you and Benny…?"

Luan's giddy smile and deep blush was enough to confirm her theory.

Despite her heart begging to put on a similar crazed, overreacting performance that Luan had done to her not 15 minutes ago, Luna chose instead to maintain her posture and cut straight to interrogating her sister, though admittedly looking gleeful all the same. "So how did it happen?"

Luan leaned back against the armrest and crossed her legs, ready to spin her own tale to Luna. Storytime had become quite a popular pastime this afternoon…

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_A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story so far! Trust me, the whole script is finished and ready to go, and the next chapter will start to serve you the real meat in the story. Thanks to all who gave a fav and a follow!_


	3. A Dying Flower

**Chapter 3 – A Dying Flower**

"…and we lived happily ever after. The end." Luan finished off with a dramatic touch. She eyed Luna, trying to scan her mind for a positive reaction, finding it rather difficult as her expression was oddly unreadable. Then Luna, who had not said a word for the entire duration of Luan's story, adopted a half-lidded smirk. "You know, sis, I thought my love story was crazy, but now I'm thinking yours might be even crazier."

Luan folded her arms smugly. "Hey, it was a _drama _after all. Get it?" She chortled with silly giggles, but was silenced when Luna pulled her into a tight, yet gentle hug.

"I'm so happy for you, brah," was all she said. Luan returned the embrace and closed her eyes contently.

Amidst the never-ending teasing and meddling the siblings often inflicted into each other's lives, there was one thing they could all be certain of: each and every one of the Louds could be counted on for support for his or her love life. There wasn't one family member who did not stand next to a sibling who was struggling or flourishing with a romance; Lincoln, Lori, Lucy, and Luna were all worthy candidates who could vouch for this strict constant. Now, Luan was one too; Luna's hug and single statement were enough proof. Luna supported her and Benny just as much as she supported Luna and Sam.

After a few moments, Luna pulled away, feeling so proud, so pleased, and above all so relieved to finally see Luan nestled in that same sensation that she was. "Do you feel that little feeling, dudette? That feeling of feeling a comfy sort of feeling?"

Luan looked at her hands, then up at Luna with a small smile. She indeed felt that particular joy that she had always longed to feel, having spent years enviously watching Lori basking in it with immense passion. The jokes and puns she generated whenever she encountered Lori prepping herself for yet another big date with Bobby had often acted as tarpaulins to cover her growing jealousy towards the eldest sister's jubilation of having a boyfriend to share her life with. But at long last, she could receive her serving of the sweet, sweet desert she had wanted to taste for so long. She was engulfed in that certain little pull that tugged at her heartstrings in a way that wrapped her in cozy blankets at night and let her soar above the clouds at day, away from anything the corrupt world could use to try to stop her in her path. It was a feeling straight from the heart.

"I feel in love."

Luna grinned. "Doesn't it feel great?" she whispered.

'Great'? It felt more than just great. Benny was hers and she was his. A silly, droopy grin slithered her face as that giddy feeling seized her again; it raced throughout her insides like someone was flushing the unknown particles out of her and replacing them with fresh air that made her feel like human Jell-O. Luna, on the other hand, finally gave up trying to restrain herself from squealing much like Luan had done earlier. "Ohhhh, my little Lulu is growing up!"

Luan goofy smile vanished instantly and she pouted, giving Luna's arm a light punch. "Don't call me that around Benny," she complained, looking thoroughly upset.

Luna wasn't letting her go that easily. "Aw, is Lulu feeling a little _embarrassed_ right now?" she teased, nudging Luan playfully in the ribs.

The ponytailed girl blushed furiously as she waved Luna off with annoyance, and gazed out the window at the late afternoon sky. Deep down, she liked the affectionate nickname Luna had chosen for her; it had first become a regular between them way back into early childhood. It was one of the reasons why it had been a such a confusing blow to Luan personally when Luna temporarily adopted her new stage name 'Lulu' on _America's Next Hitmaker._ The name didn't normally venture outside the Loud House property, but for some reason, Luan didn't want Benny to hear her siblings calling her pet-names, at least not yet. She just didn't want him to see her being treated like a child.

But that would be extremely difficult to ignore. Really, she couldn't exactly blame her family since she _did_ have a tendency to act quite childish, supposedly justifying the family's interactions towards her. She knew that they held a general perspective that Luan Loud was immature for her age, and despite never admitting it, a small fragment of Luan's mind told her that she held this view of herself as well. She didn't know why she had trouble gauging the seriousness of a situation, instead opting to present any new occurrence with a pun; whilst this was simply her way of lightening the mood during a dark time, it sometimes came off as her seeming incredibly thoughtless. Heck, even her brother and younger sisters had more awareness than she did. Most of her jokes, while humourous from a literal standpoint, ultimately were inappropriate in context with the situation. And not to mention that her years of leading Pranksgiving, while fun and amusing to her, had led her to suffer with a label tied around her neck that deemed her cynical and heartless. She wasn't blind from this.

Why would Benny, or any boy, want to be hooked up with a girl like that?

Her past behaviour certainly did not seem very mature. Her hobbies seemed to weigh more on the juvenile spectrum than her age demanded. A relationship, as she had been telling herself for weeks now, was no laughing matter; if she was to have any hope in making this new connection with Benny last, then surely she would have to make some serious changes.

"Yo, sis. You still with me, brah?"

Luna's familiar voice broke her trance, causing her to blink. How long had she been sitting there mulling over her anxieties?

"Oh…yeah, I'm…I'm still here."

Her shaky voice immediately caught Luna's attention. Being a big sister for 14 years had allowed her to pick up on subtle signs that would otherwise go unnoticed to anyone else. Something was wrong. Only five seconds ago, they were engaged in light-hearted teasing (at least on Luna's side), but suddenly Luan looked as though a storm of distress had clouded her mind.

"What's the matter, dude?"

She fiddled with her thumbs. "Nothing."

Luna shook her head. "Come on, sis. I can see something's bugging you. One moment ago, you were lost in a little bit of love, and now it looks like you've got a little heartbreak warfare."

Luan folded her hands in her lap and sighed. "Okay, okay, there is something. But I…I don't want you to worry about me…you don't need to."

Her sister moved closer to her. "That's where you're wrong, Luan. It's my job to worry about you 'cuz I'm your big sis, and I let no one in this family suffer alone. Do you remember that promise I made to you that winter's night when the furnace conked out?"

Luan stared at the carpeted floor and nodded slowly as her memory went into rewind, taking her back to the night in question. It had been the very night when both she and Luna had confessed how much they had missed each other while the latter had spent half the month of August away at her high school band retreat. The furnace has completely stopped on that chilly November night, prompting Luna to stay with Luan to keep her warm, giving the sisters ample time to pour out their hearts, learning how much they meant to one other and Luna promising that she would always be there for her little sister. It had truly been a turning point in Luna and Luan's relationship, sparking the renewal of their sister bond, and since then, they had founded a greater trust and appreciation for the other.

Additionally, Luan had promised near the end that she would discontinue tormenting her family on April Fools' Days, but never mind that right now.

"What I said then still stands now, Lu," Luna urged gently. "You can tell me anything and I'll go to the ends of the earth to help you. Now please, what's the sitch that's got you all tangled up inside?"

At last, Luan met Luna's gaze. Her eyes were soft and her expression warm; the concern etched upon her face was telling Luan that she didn't have to face her problems alone. She had her big sister by her side. It was a staple that she should never forget.

"Nothing can hide from you, huh Lunes?"

"Nope."

She shuffled her body around to face Luna directly, sitting cross-legged on the cushion once more. "Alright. Well, I guess I'm just…worried that I might not be good enough for Benny."

Luna tilted her head in confusion. "Not good enough? What do you mean, dude?"

"I mean I don't think I'm…mature enough to have a boyfriend. I don't know if I'm ready for all this. I like him, but…my habits…my lifestyle…" Luan's voice began to trail off. Her heart was beginning to feel heavy and her breathing shallow, but she struggled on, deciding to lay it all out flatly to Luna. No turning back now. The unsettled fears and worries that she had been hiding for over a month now and had tried to ignore came spilling out at a mile a minute.

"Look at me, Luna. I'm not like you, or Lori, or even Lincoln. I never know when to take things seriously or how. I bug you all with my pranks and jokes, and then laugh at your misery. My half of our closet has nothing but gag toys and dress-up costumes. I don't know how to put on make up like you, or Leni, or Lori, and the face paint used for making myself into a mime doesn't count. I wear bunny slippers every night and my favourite tv show is a bunch of poorly filmed home-videos where people do stupid stunts for laughs. Gosh darn it, I treat my Mr. Coconuts like he's alive! You even said you thought me riding the shopping cart this morning was out of my age." Luan looked down at her feet in a sudden cast of shame. "I know you guys don't say it, but you all view me as immature. And honestly, so do I. All our younger siblings know how to handle the world better than I do. Maybe there's something wrong with me or something…I'm just not grown up enough to deserve a boyfriend. I'm just a clown."

These anxieties, that had been building up in a disused storage cabinet within the back of her brain, had come firing out of her mouth with the force of an exploding canon. The fears that were in any way related to her new relationship that had arose and kept hidden since the day she had first kissed Benny as she lay in bed reflecting and wondering if she really had what it took to enter a romance were now exposed for her sister to see. Luna opened her mouth to say something, but Luan cut her off quickly, for there was one last thing she wanted to tell her.

"None of you like it when I act like a goof. Why should Benny be any different? But I really _really _want to make this work. I've been thinking…maybe I should change myself. Cut all my bad habits, make myself less childish and more serious, or whatever I'm supposed to be…"

A ramble was on the approach, to pour out her plan to make herself a different girl to secure Benny's love forever, but her statement of a complete self-transformation was all Luna needed to hear to know that she couldn't stay quiet any longer.

She reached forward and gently cupped her sister's cheeks in her hands, turning her face directly towards her and looking deeply into her eyes, silencing her. "Luan. Luan, look at me. That is the _last _thing I want you to do. You _don't _need to change yourself because there's absolutely nothing wrong with you at all."

A clear attempt to make her feel better by ignoring her many flaws. If only she were right. Luan stared at her in disbelief. "How can you say that? Didn't you just hear everything I listed that's wrong about me?"

Luna maintained her strong, yet gentle hold on her, standing her ground as she spoke. "All I heard was my sister trying to tear herself down to the ground."

As oddly comforting those hands felt against her cheeks, Luan gently pushed them away, leaving Luna feeling a little hurt. "But it's true. Don't try to make me feel better by pretending I'm not those things. I've got to be the most immature person in this family. I think even Lily has better common sense than I do. It never bothered me before, but now that I'm in a relationship, I feel so…so _pressured _to act my age. Ever since the day I kissed him, I keep feeling I need to somehow change myself." She hung her head low, lost in a jumbled mess of emotions, but refused to let tears spill. The resistance to cry before Luna sent painful jolts throughout her body that she compensated by reaching for her pink squirt flower pinned to her blouse. She undid it and dropped it on the coffee table, letting it fall and lie like a literal dying flower, before closing her eyes and wilting on the spot.

There were two dying flowers in the room.

Luna's eyes trailed off of her sister and landed upon the rejected plastic toy, deep in thought. As much as she didn't want to, she found herself sadly agreeing with her: Luan was definitely immature. More often than not, the rest of the family had to keep her in line or punch her in the ribs to get her to stop mouthing off or laughing at a situation that warranted seriousness. Even Lana and Lola knew when to shut up and listen instead of talking. While she could not hide from this fact, Luna needed to find a way to tell her sister that completely changing herself was the absolute worst way to handling her problem.

She considered Luan's current standing with Benny. She was well aware that Luan didn't have a lot of friends, and had trouble making them. This often led the jokester to putting top-notch effort in her comedy routines and performances, yet in truth, Luna knew that this was her way of lifting her own spirits, and deep down she was feeling lonely, longing for the type of company that each of the other siblings had and enjoyed. There were only a few friends of Luan that she knew off the bat, including that moody black-haired girl Luan had once entertained for at her birthday party and somehow befriended, and now Benny. It was obvious that Luan wanted very desperately to make this rare opportunity of a romance last, but her method of carrying that out via transformation was dangerously wrong. Luna herself was a popular girl and had many friends, both musically-talented and not, so she couldn't equalize with Luan's problem. She could, however, understand her false sense of a solution, for it had not been too long ago when Luna herself had fallen into the same trap. It wasn't a pretty memory to return to, but if she was to have any hope in saving her sister from falling any further and point her back in the right direction, it was necessary for them both to remember it. To forget or pretend that it never happened would be a sin.

"Luanny…I want you to think back for a moment. Last July. Do you remember what happened, and more so, what I did?"

Though a heavy heart was weighing Luan down as still as a marble statue, her mental hard drive fired up as it searched her memories to take her back to that time. She was quickly gripped by a rather painful evocation, but it was nothing compared to the agony that Luna was feeling as she too recalled this particular event.

I believe it would be easier to view this memory in Luna's perspective…

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_A/N: Annnnnnnd we're stopping here. I need to buy a stick of gum._

_But what incident could Luna be asking Luan to remember? It stems from a mistake she made in a past episode, so let's hear what your guess is._

_It's awesome news that The Loud House returns this May. That's only a 2 month hiatus! Surprisingly generous when you consider how much work the team is involved with. Just thinking about it makes me look at the Star Vs The Forces Of Evil fandom, who had to wait close to a year for their Season 4, and just laugh. The distribution of TLH is handled much more efficiently; small line-ups of episodes followed by a break, then repeat. This gives the fans new content in small packages and a short break to think about them, as opposed to a huge chunk of episodes followed by a massive break with zero new content. People get bored too quickly. With actual content from the show, we can spend our time during these short breaks analyzing and reviewing them. Perhaps building fanfiction. There's more than enough substance to discuss about with 4 episodes each time. _

_Let me know what you think! Thanks again for the reviews, faves, and follows. Until next time._


	4. Forgive, But Never Forget

_A/N: Gosh darn it, _Really Loud Music_ is so good. Luna's ballad was what hit me the most upon my first viewing. I've can't remember being pelted with so many feels in a Loud House episode than during that song alone._

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**Chapter 4 – Forgive, But Never Forget**

**Eight months ago **_**(one month before Luna's departure)**_**:**

_The trip home was loud and rowdy as per usual with any ride in Vanzilla that involved the entire Loud family. But all attention was directed to Luna, who had no less than two hours ago been the show stealer and highlight of America's Next Hitmaker, no matter what the producers had to say about the matter; the audience screamed otherwise. With the show over, interviews done, and equipment packed up, she had left the performance hall with a standing ovation for Luna Loud, rather than a chic in pink called Lulu. Luna went home a happy girl; she may not have won the contest, but she did win something a lot greater than that._

_There was little chance for her to catch her breath during the voyage home; her parents and siblings bombarded her with questions and compliments, with numerous shouts of 'Congrats!' or 'What were you thinking?!' all the way to Burpin' Burger to celebrate and eventually on the way home. And she was happy to respond to them all as they left the bright lights of the town for the sleepy suburbs that they called home. The day had drained a lot of her energy and there was nothing more that she wanted to do than to shower, exchange her sweaty threads for her pajamas, and fall right to sleep. It was almost midnight when she finally bid everyone 'good night', and retired to the quiet of her bedroom, where she performed her last act of the night: packing her precious guitar safely away in its case. _

_Or so she thought that would be her last act of the night._

_She was just about to climb up the ladder to her bunk for a well-earned rest when Luan, also in her pajamas, put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She was smiling._

"_You totally rocked the stage tonight. I'm proud of you, sis!"_

_Luna swelled with pride, something that she had been doing a lot of tonight. "Thanks, dude! I honestly didn't think I could pull that off. I'm just glad Chunk was able to bring all his amps and things in time, and back me up."_

_The comedienne leaned her arm nonchalantly against the side of Luna's bunk. "Even though you found a way out of your sticky situation, I'm glad you found it in yourself to _jam_! Get it?" She let out her traditional laugh while Luna groaned, though slightly flattered since Luan was simply complimenting her. _

_Assuming that the conversation was over, she resumed climbing the ladder when Luan spoke again. "Just promise me one thing, Luna." The rockstar sensed a difference in tone. She turned her full attention to her and noticed a strange sadness lingering in Luan's unusually quiet voice and that her smile had vanished. Luan sighed. "Don't ever change yourself again. You really gave me a shock back there."_

_Luna stared at Luan for a moment, then climbed back down the ladder to sit upon the lower bunk, with her little sister quickly following suit. She felt that an apology was needed. "I'm sorry about that, Luan. I just…I was in a real bind. You're right, I wasn't thinking straight. Too caught up in trying to please the whole world, I know. But I'll never make that mistake again. I'll always be me from now on, you can count on that." _

_Luan looked down at her bunny slippers and then leaned in to give Luna a tight hug, happy to have her sister back. Luna returned it, feeling the comfort of her little sister in her arms wash over her._

_In her rush to impress the world, she had lost sight of not just her performance, but herself. She had changed her song, donned a new makeover, and had come close to completely changing her name. The hour before showtime had been one of the toughest moments of decision-making in Luna's life as she weighed on her options: to have the whole world love the singer and song that appeared on stage, or to take a chance to sing as herself and the song that had been written from her heart. Tonight's events had been a close shave for her already-shortly cut hair, but she had pulled through with the right move. _

_But only just._

_Now she understood why Luan had been so scared; why everyone in her family had been so put off by her new look. _

_She then recalled Mick's words to her when she had been lying on her bed contemplating her position, and realized that he had been wrong; she hadn't been Luna Loud at all in that get-up. So focused she had been to be that 'one in a million' that she had almost sold her soul to the world for fame and fortune. The thought of how close she had come to changing her entire being and removing her true talent from the picture suddenly began to chew her up from the inside with a powerful venom of pure guilt._

"_Lunes? P-Please don't cry. It's okay now."_

_Luan's small, frightened voice brought Luna back to attention as she pulled away from the rocker slightly with worry in her eyes. Only then was Luna aware that she was indeed crying. She didn't even try to hold back the tears that cascaded down her cheeks; tears laced with guilt and shame over her mess-ups. She wiped them away with the back of her hand, smudging her makeup. Luna spent a moment of gathering her thoughts before trying to speak again. Her voice felt so strained and cracked when she finally did. _

"_I'm so…so sorry, Luan. I really am. I messed up big time, dude. I was so…lost in trying to catch as much fame as I could…that I forgot why I wanted to enter a song in the first place. I…I feel so ashamed of myself."_

"_Lunes, you made the right decision in the end and fixed your mistake. That's all that matters now. _That's_ why I'm proud of you."_

_Such simple, overused statements, but they were true. Luan pulled her sister in for another hug; she felt her roommate quivering against her shoulder and it soon began to feel damp, but her sobs were almost silent. Luan closed her eyes, allowing a few tears of her own to escape._

_It was clear that they both needed emotional support tonight._

_Luan rubbed Luna's back soothingly and whispered softly into her ear, trying to calm her down. "It's okay. It's okay to cry. Ssshhhhh. I'm right here. I forgive you." With her voice so kind and motions ever so slow, Luna began to relax, but her grip on Luan's shirt strengthened. So Luan eased her on to her bed, lying down so that they were more comfortable. Luna wept silently and all Luan did was hug her, continuing to whisper reassuring words that were nothing short of sweet. How she had nothing to apologize for, to let it all out, and that she was right here for her. She spoke so faintly that no one would hear her except the sister in her arms, even with the house's paper-thin walls. At last, Luna wore herself out and her shaking ceased. She shifted herself slightly so that she could face her sister. _

"_I…I'm sorry you have to see me like this..." she sniffled, overcome with guilt and embarrassment. It was not a pleasant feeling at all._

"_Hey, it's alright sis," Luan hummed as she stroked Luna's arm. She rolled over and quickly whisked out a couple of tissues from her bedside cabinet drawer. She rolled right on back to face her sister and hand them to her, watching Luna blow her nose and slowly clean herself up. "I think we both needed a good cry. But it's over now. You may have made a wrong turn earlier, but instead of continuing down the wrong road, you backtracked and went the right way in the end." _

_Her statement actually caught Luna a little off-guard. She never really thought that Luan could think that deeply. But in such a moment like this, she was glad that she could._

"_Thanks, sis," she murmured, wiping the last tear away, her mouth curving a little. Luan grinned._

"_Is that a smile I see?" she whispered playfully._

_Luna tried to hold it back with little success. "No…?"_

_Luan giggled at her. "Oh, it definitely is." She bopped Luna on the tip of her nose, giggling again, and this time Luna joined her._ _She couldn't help it. Though Luan's puns and jokes were more often than not uncalled for and placed at the most inappropriate of times, her little sister undoubtedly had the power to make anyone laugh._

_They shared a little laughter, which seemed to be in order for both of them. After settling down, Luna gazed at her little sister and smiled. Luan may be annoying, obnoxious, and sometimes questionable in the way she sometimes treated her and the rest of the family, crossing the line just one too many times, but Luna could see past what the world saw on the outside. Deep down, the Luan she knew was one of the kindest, sweetest girls she had ever met. A wholesome soul with a heart of gold. She loved her little sister to death and despite her imperfections (and sometimes dangerous actions) she always found herself feeling happiest with her. What had she done to deserve such a caring sister and friend?_

_She pushed a stray strand of hair away from Luan's face and pressed the gentlest of kisses upon her forehead out of thanksgiving and gratitude. She watched Luan blush faintly, and then smile. She loved Luan's smile. The younger girl rested her head comfortably upon Luna's chest and sighed deeply. No words were spoken between them for the rest of the night; they instead cuddled together, concentrating on each other's breathing and enjoying each other's company. Luna's performance and now her crying had left the rocker feeling exhausted beyond the limit, but she also felt better now. Much better. Her once cloudy, confused mind was now clean and clear save for two items: one was to formally apologize to the rest of her family in the morning for her stupid actions and the other was that she had the most rockin' roommate ever. Among the many things she had learned tonight, the one lesson standing out to her right now was of a reminder of the comfort that she could always find within her little sister. There was only one Lulu in her life, but tonight, although brief, there had been two. Luna pushed the image of the pink-haired girl in the glittery show threads out of her mind as she began to nod off. _

Never again_, she thought triumphantly. _That Lulu is dead.

_And at long last, Luna knew she was right back where she belonged._

**Present day:**

"You taught me an important lesson that night, sis," Luna told her solemnly. "I didn't realize how far I was reaching for the spotlight just to make the world happy. I didn't catch on until I really saw how much I had scared you all when I first walked through the front door as Lulu. C'mon, not even Mom and Pops knew who I was. But it scared me too. The scariest part was that for a while, I really did think I was that glitzy, stuck-up freak, and I tried to play the part until it hit me that I had messed up BIG TIME. I stared at myself in the mirror and I could barely recognize myself. I was a ghost of a girl. I sang an entire song about it before deciding that enough was enough. In the end, I didn't land a record deal. But I did learn that it's not what you have…it's who you are. And who I was, wasn't me. I want the world to know me as the real Luna Loud."

Luna closed her eyes, that sorrowful ballad playing in her head. For one brief moment, she found herself sitting not on the family's tattered couch, but on a dirty ventilation box on the rooftop of the Royal Woods performance hall as the sky cried a thousand tears for her. In her sparkly pink show outfit, Lulu hung her head, lamenting with the one thought on her mind: _What have I done?_

In the blink of an eye, she was zapped back to reality, and was once again sitting on the couch facing Luan, who had long uncovered her face and was equally looking at her.

"And that's why I don't want you to make the same mistake I almost made. I think Benny would want to date a girl he knows, not a girl who isn't really there. I changed myself to please the world. And it sounds like you're trying to change yourself to please Benny. But changing yourself…ain't the way to get what you want. Don't you remember when Linc and Luce tried to go through radical changes to impress a mate? In the end, they learned what I want you to know right now: you're perfect just the way you are."

Luan, although still feeling conflicted, stared at Luna, then down at the coffee table as she let the memory and Luna's words sink in. True to what she said, Luna's transformation to Lulu had been an instant shocker to her. Almost riding on the borderline of traumatization. This wasn't the first time Luna had undergone a character change though. Many years ago, she had gone from a shy little girl to the rockstar she was now. But at that time, Luan had been too young to notice much and Luna had been seeking her true purpose, so effectively, that change had come almost as a welcome surprise as Luna found her inner placement. But to be the Luna she had grown up with one day and Lulu the next had been too much of a jump for Luan, one she was glad had long jumped out of the picture.

"Yeah…you did give me a bit of a fright. But why am I so…_behind_ everyone else?" she pressed, suddenly gripped with unpleasant memories of her parents dropping her off in front of City Hall for the purpose of learning that 'life isn't all about laughs'.

"It's just a timing thing, dude. Everyone goes through this, but we don't all develop at the same speed. You'll learn to mature in due time. Because, yes…I do agree…" Luna hesitated, trying to put this down as politely as she could. "You can be a bit, er, wacky, and a little silly too. Sometimes a little insensitive." She watched painfully as Luan winced, so she quickly moved on. "But we all go through that, brah. And we all learn through time how to mature. Some get it faster than others, but in the end, we're all growing up. I'm not completely off the hook either, you know. Remember when I used to set off fireworks in the house just to make a big finale for myself? And in a house that falls apart with every step you take inside it, that's got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever done, man!

Luan couldn't help but smile, albeit a little. "Yeah, that was pretty crazy."

"If by 'crazy' you mean 'completely out of my mind', then I agree. We all make dumb decisions, dude. We're all immature. It means we're human. But we learn. The important part is that we learn from our mistakes."

Luna took a breath before continuing.

"But let me ask you this, dude. You told me that you and Benny hooked up halfway through April. It's the end of May now, and you had all that time in between for rehearsing together. Did he show _any_ signs of being uncomfortable around you at all?"

Luan stared at her squirt flower, still lying lifeless on the table as she thought back. "No," she said carefully. "We…we've had tons of fun together. I have pictures to prove it." She pulled out her phone and quickly opened up the photo album she had been viewing that morning. She handed it to Luna, who took a quick scroll through…and instantly smiled. The images depicted her sister and her boyfriend playing, laughing, and goofing off together; everything that seemed to contradict what Luan had been worried about.

"Dude, you wanna know what I see here?"

Luan's mind screamed out what she asked in a low whisper. "What?"

Luna smiled broadly. "I see two weirdos having the time of their lives. It looks right as rain that you little dudes are pretty happy together."

Luan looked down at the photos. It sure seemed that way.

"But it's only been a month," she argued. "We haven't gone on any dates, so he's never seen me outside of the theatre doing my own thing. What if he doesn't like me for who I am?"

"Then he's not the right mate for you," Luna stated flatly, almost immediately. "If he can't see it in his heart to love you for who you are like you do for him, he's not your man. But judging by these pictures, it sure seems like he's reaching for you. I mean look at you kids, you're totally rockin' together!"

Luan's eyes lingered on a particular selfie of her and Benny hugging each other close. They weren't even in costume or holding any props, just…hugging. She remembered that one; he had embraced her for no apparent reason and she had been quick enough to whip out her phone and camera app before he let her go. This memory made her heart beat faster than a drum.

"I do love him," she whispered. "And it does look like he's happy, doesn't it?" She said this as more of a statement instead of a question. Luna matched her smile.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about," she soothed as she handed her phone back to her. "Love isn't easy, but it sure is hard enough. All you need to do is just be who you are and go far, go far."

She then moved closer to Luan and gently turned her around such that she was sitting behind the ponytailed girl. Removing the scrunchie in her hair and looping it around her wrist, she let Luan's long brown mane fall down and started to braid it. "Love is a funny thing, sis. But don't stop believin'. Sometimes you just gotta roll with it, other times you gotta make the first move. You already did that by signing up for the play to get closer to him. And look where you are now."

The younger girl smiled, partly because of these reassuring words and partly because of her distress fading a little at her older sister's touch. There were reasons why Luna meant the most to her; these were just two reasons.

"But," Luna said suddenly, "while you don't want to change your life, that doesn't mean you can't improve it. There's a difference between completely changing yourself and making yourself better."

Luan was instantly curious. "Like what?"


	5. The Flower Blossoms

**Chapter 5 – The Flower Blossoms**

"Well, for starters, you mentioned you talked to your puppet dude Coconuts the whole time you were feeling down. I just…I dunno, brah…find that kind of odd."

Luan nodded, or at least made enough of a gesture without yanking her own hair. "Yeah, I guess that was kind of weird. Remember when I mentioned I didn't want my soulmate stolen by a burglar a few years back? Well, at the time I really believed it was him, until I met Benny. I've had Mr. Coconuts for so long…he was my best friend when you weren't around. I always saw him as readily available to talk to."

Luna carefully divided up the brown strands of hair. "Well, whatever he told you must have worked, I guess. But if you ever want to talk to someone who has been through what you're going through or just someone to pour out your heart to, you can always talk to me. You know that."

Just like Mr. Coconuts had said.

"Yeah, I do know that. Anything else I should work on?"

Luna twisted the long handfuls of hair as she thought. "The whole thing about knowing when to be serious vs being funny…maybe from now on, just take a few seconds to look at your surroundings and decide whether it would be better to keep quiet or speak up. But even then, jokes aren't exactly the best way to lighten the mood when someone is hurt or something. People are sensitive creatures, ya know?"

Luan knew what Luna meant.

"So try to help them out first. Then maybe when their spirits are groovy again, feel free to make 'em laugh. You hear what I'm saying? I guess the same could be said about your pranking spree. The lower-pitch pranks can actually make others laugh with you. But when they actually hurt or humiliate them, that just bums them out and the fun's over. And that ain't cool."

Luan wanted to look at Luna in the eye, but it was impossible given her and Luna's seating position. "I'm doing better now, aren't I?" she asked tentatively.

"Of course you are, dude! This past April Fools' showed us all a huge improvement. And I'm proud of you."

* * *

On that freezing November night, along with Luna's promise to always be there for Luan, came a request from the rocker for her to tone down her pranks on next April Fools'. Knowing that the comedienne would be reluctant to let go of something she loved doing so much, Luna had helped Luan to understand that she wasn't asking her to stop the pranking to get a little peace, but because she was tired of becoming scared of Luan every year. This revelation had opened Luan's eyes and was enough to convince her to promise to tone down her pranks not just for the upcoming April, but every April following. Luna had trusted her sister with this commitment even before the night was over, for she could see the truth and sincerity in Luan's eyes that meant that the promise would not be broken. Unbeknownst to them, but thanks to the house's poorly built walls, their siblings had overheard their conversation and were aware of the apparent change in Luan's future plans.

Then the big day finally arrived and everyone was still wary and hesitant with every step around the house they took. After all, it had been four months since Luan had made that promise to Luna and, indirectly, the entire family, giving her plenty of time to reconsider reverting back to her normal, psychotic self. But the prankster had stayed true to her word and only set up minor pranks in the rooms, a drastic drop in the level of threat compared to her previous records. No raccoon attacks, exploding seat cushions, or insane boobytraps were spotted. That April Fools' Day saw nothing more serious than Leni's face splattered with orange paint or Lisa getting drenched with a water pail. Luna herself reached the end of the day scathed by nothing more than a mere joy buzzer on the refrigerator door handle. And in the end, Luan got the effect that she craved with any prank: catching her victims by surprise and getting a laugh out of it. But the difference here was that no one had been injured, burned, or humiliated. Additionally, there was a pleasant bonus that Luan hadn't counted on as a result of her rebooted, toned-down pranks: her family actually got a laugh out of them too, albeit less compared to hers, but laughter nonetheless. This perk had led her to discover the merit of small-scale pranks. Maybe now she wouldn't have to enjoy April Fools' Day alone anymore, and more importantly, not be labeled as the one to avoid every year.

* * *

"You gave up your yearly round of wacko pranks, just to keep your promise," Luna told her as she continued to braid. "And that proved to us all that you can change your ways when you put your heart into it. So I know you can make adjustments to your habits if you want to, slowly making yourself better. If that's not a sign of maturity, I don't know what is."

Luan sat quietly, letting Luna's words spin the gears in her mind. She thought back at how her family had laughed alongside her this past April as opposed to running away from her in fear. Never before had she enjoyed April Fools' this much.

"And all those other things you mentioned: the toys, costumes, novelty stuff…those are your comedy props. And inspiration. They're what you use to run your business and earn serious cash. So of course, you gotta keep them. As for knowing how to apply make up, I'm sure Leni would love to teach you. Oh, and the thing about the cart surfing? Enjoy it while you can…in time, the cart will let you know when the ride's over."

"What about my bunny slippers?" Luan suddenly asked. "Do you think they're dorky?"

"I think they're practical. They keep your feet warm, don't they?"

Luan grinned. "They sure do. They're cozy."

"Then don't even think of ditching them. Besides, Benny will never get to see them…at least not yet."

Luan suddenly blushed furiously. "L-Luna!"

Her sister burst out laughing. "I'm just messin' with you, dude!"

Flustered beyond belief, Luan was glad Luna chose to take a breather to finish the braid and give her some time to think. The points and pointers that Luna had given her were dissolving into the depths of her brain, finding their way into the master processing area for some thorough analyzing. She had been thinking long and hard on these confusing feelings for quite some time now, initially believing that there truly was something wrong with her and that she had to smarten up. However, thanks to Luna's concealed wisdom, the concept of 'smarten up' no longer meant following through with her initial solution of changing her lifestyle completely. It now simply meant to improve old habits and learn through experience to avoid making the same mistakes again. This came as an immense relief to her because she truly did not want to give up the things she loved and found fun. Benny would just have to see for himself whether Luan was the Luan he fancied.

Luna was right though; those pictures did seem to confirm this.

Speaking of Luna, she gave a friendly stroke of Luan's new braid and quickly took a picture with her phone. She then resumed her seat on her cushion and looked at Luan's face carefully. She could see that the fear and anxiety were gone, replaced with a smile of contentment. She really did love Luan's smile. She then picked up the discarded squirt flower from the coffee table and refastened it to Luan's blouse where it belonged.

That flower was just a toy. But Luan certainly wasn't. Luna didn't consider herself much of a gardener, but today, she had managed to restore a dying flower.

The happiness and relief highlighted on Luan's face was nothing compared to what her heart was feeling. She gazed at her big sister and felt every ounce of thankfulness for having Luna in her life stream through her system. Any outsider could easily dismiss the idea of a wild, upbeat, guitar wailing, rock-and-roll gal in skull-adorned threads to be so gentle and compassionate. But the girl who had just braided her hair was living proof that this notion was wrong. Whilst she and each of her family members had shared their own special moments together, Luna never failed to be the one whom she felt happiest with. Her time away last summer had taught Luan a lesson of her importance to her in a way that was so crystal clear. Especially now.

Then for some odd reason, her mind froze up. She wanted to thank Luna. Thank her big sister for everything she had done for her today: pointing her in the right direction, saving her from taking a dangerous turn, talking her through her conflicting feelings, restoring her fractured heart, telling her love story, listening to _her_ love story, braiding her hair, gently correcting her faults, and assuring her that her life was going to be okay. But saying a simple 'thank you' didn't seem a sufficient enough form of gratitude for a life's worth of kindness that she had been given today. Equally, Luan didn't think a million shouts of thanks in a rapid spitball display was really going to cut it either. But she had to say _something_.

This was rather funny, considering how she certainly had no problem speaking, not even on stage. She could easily wear out an audience of her siblings or complete strangers with her comedy routine, especially the verbal types. Recently however, she had noticed that there seemed to be a sort of invisible block between her tongue and her brain when it came to speaking during emotionally intimate moments. She hoped to one day find a way to remove this barrier and use her words properly to deliver important messages such as this.

But that day just wasn't today.

"Luna, I…I-I want to…w-what I mean is…I think you're…ohh…"

Luna was now the second person whom she found herself stuttering before, struggling to regurgitate the words that her heart longed to say.

Luna, meanwhile, watched her adorable little sister flub through her speech, like she was trying to give a speech to the president while trying to stay afloat in a mass of gelatin, but with limited success. (She had experienced what it was like to swim in such a dessert on two individual occasions, both courtesy of Luan.) Luckily, she had a pretty good idea of what Luan was trying to tell her and she couldn't resist helping out.

"You think I'm the most rockin', most totally awesome sister in the whole dang world who everyone should bow down to her greatness, and also the most talented gal around who can shred her axe like a crowned demon on golden wings with her face featured in every rock-and-roll hall of fame built, and rightfully deserves a spot next to Mick Swagger as his right-hand band mate?"

Luan just stared at her.

"Lunes?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't ruin this moment for me. You're too big for your boots," she said flatly. "…even though all that's true," she added with a mutter, which actually surprised Luna enough to grant her a light blush. Luan looked up deeply into Luna's brown eyes and spoke in a low voice so only she could hear her.

"What I'm trying to tell you, Luna is…_thank you_. For everything. All these things you've said while we've been sitting here means so much to me, and I feel a lot better now. You and I…we fight and argue, and drive each other nuts…but at the end of the day, you're still the best sister and friend I could ever ask for."

Luna couldn't hold back the growing smile on her face as her blush intensified and her eyes softened. Truly touched she was by Luan's sincere words that she involuntarily put a hand to her heart. It wasn't everyday you got to hear these kinds of things from her.

She touched Luan's cheek again, but this time she simply ran her index finger across it. "Aw Luan, you're too much for words. I'm really glad to hear that from you. Making you feel better is all I need to do to know that I'm doing my job. And I've never told you this before, but this is the number one job that I enjoy with every beat of my heart. Even more than shredding my axe. I want nothing but the best for you."

She sat herself right next to Luan, slinging her arm around the latter's shoulders as they faced the setting sun outside the window.

"Just remember, brah. It just takes time to work your way through love and war. But you don't have to do it alone 'cuz I'm here for you every step of the way."

"And I'm here for you too," Luan stated, looking up at her. "If you have troubles with Sam, I'll do anything I can to help you."

The girls were practically the same height, with only the slightest of inches difference, but enough so that Luan had to look 'up' to meet Luna in the eye.

She already looked up to her.

"Thanks, dude. I know you will." They shared a sweet smile and Luna could see that the Luan Loud she knew and loved was back. With her voice as smooth as velvet, she proceeded to sing a soft little tune from Luan's favourite a cappella group. Singing spontaneously was just a natural habit of hers.

_We, we light up the sky  
Heaven knows there's no such thing as goodbye.  
'Cause love, love can never die  
We'll forever be burning, you and I._

Smiling warmly, Luan joined in with her sister. Luna gently rocked them from side to side in a graceful sway to match the rhythm.

_And don't you forget  
The only thing that matters is our heartbeats going strong.  
Oh, don't you forget  
That nothing else can matter 'cause we know where I belong._

_Oh, take me there,  
Won't you take me there?  
Won't you take me home?  
Oh, take me there  
Won't you take me there?  
Won't you take me home?_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.__  
__Oh take me there,__  
__Won't you take me there?__  
__Won't you take me home?__  
__Oh, take me there,__  
__Won't you take me there?__  
__Won't you take me home?_

The girls finished their song, feeling happy and content. Luan had an exceptionally beautiful singing voice, but rarely revealed it in public. Luna often pondered about this, coming to the conclusion that the comedienne wasn't nearly as comfortable with openly singing as she was. There were a few occasions when she would do it, like when they sang for Mr. Grouse a few years back, but Luna was the only one who had really heard her enough to gauge her singing ability. The rocker secretly hoped that she could one day help break her little sister's shell to sing to the world and experience the boisterous joy of setting your heart free in the form of song. Though for the time being, she did hold a little pride for being the one whom Luan was comfortable enough to sing openly to.

Luan lifted her head from its comfortable perch on Luna's shoulder and brought a hand to her hair, running her fingers over her braid. She very rarely let go of her ponytail, let alone changed her hairstyle at all. Truth be told, she now looked like a very different girl. But she was still her, and wasn't planning on selling herself out any time soon. She then looked up at Luna's dark brown pixie-cut.

"I wish I could braid _your_ hair," she sighed longingly.

Luna adopted sympathetic smile and chuckled. "Yeah, it's a little late for that, dude. But my transformation from shy little gal to rockstar is one change in my life that I don't regret." She put her hand on Luan's head and stroked her hair lightly.

Luan closed her eyes in comfort, slightly leaning into Luna's hand, much like her pet rabbit Gary whenever someone pet him. "You sure like to play with my hair a lot."

"Only because I know you like me to."

Luan blushed, but it was a very different kind of blush to the ones that had crossed her face all month. Feeling that tender fondness for her big sister rush through her, she leaned forward and snuggled the side of her head into Luna's chest, hugging her around the waist. Luna closed up the embrace, resting her chin on Luan's head. The braided girl sighed contently, feeling warm and safe with Luna. She didn't know why, out of everyone in her family, the hard-rock, laid back, weirdo-lingo speaking, torn thread and choker-donning sister was the one she connected with the most. She listened quietly to Luna's heart beating a steady rhythm, and wished that she could somehow show how grateful she was for her compassion and how much she loved her big sister in a stronger way than just a hug. The special affection for her swept through her system in great waves and rushing rivers, which all accumulated into a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"I really owe you one, sis."

"No, you don't, dude. I'm your sister and I look out for you. It's what I do."

"But that's just it. You do so much for me all the time. I want to do something for you."

Luna stroked Luan's cheek with her thumb, wiping the tear away. "Well…my birthday's in a couple weeks. If you really want to do something, you can save it for that."

Her sister quickly made a mental note to look into that. "You're the best, you know that?" came her muffled voice.

Luna smiled smugly. The pros of being a big sister always outweighed the cons. "I know," the proud Loud said slyly.

Luan rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up," she muttered and thumped her palm on to Luna's chest. Maybe a little harder than she meant to, because Luna felt the wind being knocked out of her.

"Dude!" she complained lightly, but any protests that might have followed were silenced abruptly when Luan stretched up and kissed her on the cheek, an affectionate gesture that surprised Luna enough to forget her previous pain in a flash; Luan didn't usually give her kisses. She shook off the shock and let a small smile grace her face as she hugged her again, choosing to let it all slide in exchange for just relishing the moment. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too."

The teens stayed like this for a few blissfully silent minutes, nestled in the peace that they brought to each another. Peace that was rooted firmly in their hearts and sent floods of strong energy swirling through their arteries and veins, one that united them in an unbreakable bond of not just family, but best friends. With their respective soulmates, Luna and Luan experienced a love that the world was very much affiliated with. But with each other, they were engulfed in a different type, one that was very rare to find these days, but most abundant in this house. Luna stroked Luan's hair as she eyed her long trains of sleek strands reflecting the setting sunlight, almost sparkling.

"Who do you love more? Benny or me?" Luna quizzed jokingly.

Luan took a moment to think of her answer. She could have made a joke about it. She could have said something clever and witty. But at such a moment as this, she decided to be truthful. She whispered, so only Luna could hear.

"I love you both the same amount…but in different ways."

Luna tightened their embrace. "Right answer, Lulu," she hummed into her ear.

_Never change, Luan_. _Never change._

The sound of the oven bell indicated that their pie was complete; they had almost forgotten their baking spree. Luna let her go.

"Hey, let's go see how you did!" said Luan excitedly. Just then, the front door opened, and their mother entered with several of their younger siblings in tow. Judging by the shopping bags weighing down their shoulders, it was clear that they had just returned from a trip to Royal Woods' shopping mall. That would explain why the house had been practically vacant all afternoon.

"Hey! I smell apple pie!" exclaimed Lola.

"I smelled it from the driveway, so that means I get dibs!" declared Lana. The twins immediately began squabbling as they made a dash for the kitchen. Luna and Luan shared a knowing look of this all-too familiar scene.

"Guess we better go serve some pie, huh sis?" Luna inquired.

Luan grinned mischievously. "No problem. That _service_ should be as easy as pie. Get it?" She laughed and while Luna…simply smiled at her. They then made their way into the kitchen together for what promised to be a fun evening with the rest of the family. The yellow scrunchie swung along Luna's wrist.

Life is but a race set on a stage, and your heart is the racer wearing the number. Unable to separate from the heart, you must do the actual running. The trials you will encounter will be many and difficult, but no matter what plight you may face along the way, you can be sure that you can count on your friends and family to make racing worth it no matter what. Luan had learned this lesson today and she was looking forward to the race ahead with Benny as her racing partner and Luna as her coach.

She hoped that she could be a good coach to Luna too.

**THE END**

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_A/N: It's done! It's finally done. This has been my most in-depth story to date. Hopefully I was able to pull off my achievements of a heart-warming/story continuation tale, but if not, I at least hope you had a fun read. And with the recent news that Benny and Sam have both been confirmed to return in Season 4, it looks like I'll be getting more material to use to continue Luna and Luan's story. Also, for convenience to the plot's sake, let's pretend their entire conversation took place within the pie's baking time. Okay? Okay, good._

_If you liked this story, or have suggestions for what you'd like to see in the future, then feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments roster. They are much appreciated. Thank you all so much for making it to the end; I will see you all very soon._

_Songs used, quoted, and referenced: 'Take Me Home' (Pentatonix), and MANY others._

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_**And now: a sneak peek at my next fic, 'Not Dancing On My Own'…already in progress. Exact wording subject to change.**_

"Guys, this feels _really_ weird," Lincoln said a few moments later. He was dancing yet again, while holding Lola's hands, but trying not to step on Lana's feet. The twins had stacked themselves on top of each other, with Lola taking the top and Lana controlling the bottom. The result was a dance partner who was slightly taller than Lincoln and wobbled with a rather ungainly step. Yet in the end, the effort was decent enough. But never before had Lincoln danced with such a strange partner.

"Oh, Linky, your dancing is so _enchanting_," Lola gushed, gazing at Lincoln with dreamy glowing eyes, a look that she undoubtedly would only reserve for her very own Prince Charming. The rotating disco ball seemed to make the sparkles on her hot-pink dress shine twice as much as they already did. Aside from the large silver tiara placed delicately atop her head, Lola's appearance tonight didn't stray too far from her usual look, yet as Lincoln looked at her during the dance, she gave the air of a true princess threefold. Her hair almost seemed to wave care-free down her back as they swayed to the music.

"Remember, as soon as this song is done, it's my turn to be the head and hands!" Lana piped up from just below Lincoln's middle. She winced as Lola's pink heels dug into her shoulders, but still managed to hold her up and keep in step with her brother's feet. Like Lynn, the little grease monkey very rarely wore anything outside of what was appropriate for her hobbies, namely her muddy overalls and sweaty T-shirt. Tonight though, Lana must have broken at least a dozen of her self-imposed rules to exchange her work clothes for a simple teal-coloured dress with small sleeves and a pair of black shoes. Her hair was even combed down, rather than being held in pigtails. Certainly not as fancy as the other siblings, but definitely an effort to Lana's usual standards. If anything, she had chosen not to bring her signature red cap tonight. That already said a lot.

_**Keep an eye out for the full story, coming soon!**_


	6. BONUS FIC: Lulu Is Dead

_A/N: The story may be over, but I have one last piece of material to add on. This is the flashback from Chapter 3, as originally written. _

_The flashback was actually much longer than what you were presented in the story. Too long in fact, hence why it was cut. This was originally meant to be a rather painful memory for not just Luna, but Luan as well. However, I ultimately decided that Luan's perspective of the events was unnecessary and too distracting from the main story, so I deleted most of her roles and neatly reworked them here as a little bonus 'story' for you. It's literally an extended version of the flashback and a continuation of the events that happen after _Really Loud Music _seen through both Luna and Luan's eyes. Happy reading!_

**_Guest reviewer (who guessed that the Louds will be involved in some kind of dance party in the next story): _**_l__et's just say you will be in for a treat. _

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**BONUS FIC – Lulu is Dead**

**a.k.a. Flashback Extended Scene**

**Eight months ago **_**(one month before Luna's departure)**_**:**

The trip home was loud and rowdy as per usual with any ride in Vanzilla that involved the entire Loud family. But all attention was directed to Luna, who no less than two hours ago had been the show stealer and highlight of _America's Next Hitmaker_, no matter what the producers had to say about the matter; the audience screamed otherwise. With the show over, interviews done, and equipment packed up, she had left the performance hall with a standing ovation for Luna Loud, rather than a chic in pink called Lulu. Luna went home a happy girl; she may not have won the contest, but she did win something a lot greater than that.

There was little chance for her to catch her breath during the voyage home; her parents and siblings bombarded her with questions and compliments, with numerous shouts of 'Congrats!' or 'What were you thinking?!' all the way to Burpin' Burger to celebrate and eventually on the way home. And she was happy to respond to them all as they left the bright lights of the town for the sleepy suburbs that they called home. The day had drained a lot of her energy and there was nothing more that she wanted to do than to shower, exchange her sweaty threads for her pajamas, and fall right to sleep. It was almost midnight when she finally bid everyone 'good night', and retired to the quiet of her bedroom, where she performed her last act of the night: packing her precious guitar safely away in its case.

Or so she thought that would be her last act of the night.

She was just about to climb up the ladder to her bunk for a well-earned rest when Luan, also in her pajamas, put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She was smiling.

"You totally rocked the stage tonight. I'm proud of you, sis!"

Luna swelled with pride, something that she had been doing a lot of tonight. "Thanks, dude! I honestly didn't think I could pull that off. I'm just glad Chunk was able to bring all his amps and things in time, and back me up."

The comedienne leaned her arm nonchalantly against the side of Luna's bunk. "Even though you found a way out of your sticky situation, I'm glad you found it in yourself to _jam! _Get it?"She let out her traditional laugh while Luna groaned, though slightly flattered since Luan was simply complimenting her.

Assuming that the conversation was over, she resumed climbing the ladder when Luan spoke again. "Just promise me one thing, Luna." The rockstar sensed a difference in tone. She turned her full attention to her and noticed a strange sadness lingering in Luan's unusually quiet voice and that her smile had vanished. Luan sighed. "Don't ever change yourself again. You really gave me a shock back there."

Luna stared at Luan for a moment, then climbed back down the ladder to sit upon the lower bunk, with her little sister quickly following suit. She felt that an apology was needed. "I'm sorry about that, Luan. I just…I was in a real bind. You're right, I wasn't thinking straight. Too caught up in trying to please the whole world, I know. But I'll never make that mistake again. I'll always be me from now on, you can count on that."

Luan looked down at her bunny slippers and then leaned in to give Luna a tight hug, happy to have her sister back. Luna returned it, feeling the comfort of her little sister in her arms wash over her.

In her rush to impress the world, she had lost sight of not just her performance, but herself. She had changed her song, donned a new makeover, and had come close to completely changing her name. The hour before showtime had been one of the toughest moments of decision-making in Luna's life as she weighed on her options: to have the whole world love the singer and song that appeared on stage, or to take a chance to sing as herself and the song that had been written from her heart. Tonight's events had been a close shave for her already-shortly cut hair, but she had pulled through with the right move.

But only just.

Now she understood why Luan had been so scared; why _everyone _in her family had been so put off by her new look.

She then recalled Mick's words to her when she had been lying on her bed contemplating her position, and realized that he had been wrong; she hadn't been Luna Loud at all in that get-up. So focused she had been to be that 'one in a million' that she had almost sold her soul to the world for fame and fortune. The thought of how close she had come to changing her entire being and removing her true talent from the picture suddenly began to chew her up from the inside with a powerful venom of pure guilt.

"Lunes? P-Please don't cry. It's okay now."

Luan's small, frightened voice brought Luna back to attention as she pulled away from the rocker slightly with worry in her eyes. Only then was Luna aware that she was indeed crying. She didn't even try to hold back the tears that cascaded down her cheeks; tears laced with guilt and shame over her mess-ups. She wiped them away with the back of her hand, smudging her makeup. Luna spent a moment of gathering her thoughts before trying to speak again. Her voice felt so strained and cracked when she finally did.

"I'm so…so sorry, Luan. I really am. I messed up big time, dude. I was so…lost in trying to catch as much fame as I could…that I forgot why I wanted to enter a song in the first place. I…I feel so ashamed of myself."

"Lunes, you made the right decision in the end and fixed your mistake. That's all that matters now. _That's _why I'm proud of you."

Such simple, overused statements, but they were true. Luan spoke them through her mouth, but they came from her heart. Seeing Luna so broken was making her feel hurt inside. Her sister's raspy and rough voice, the voice she had grown to be so familiar with, had reached its breaking point where it was reduced to a high-pitched squeak, only heard when Luna was deeply saddened. It would make Luan cringe terribly whenever she heard it. She was used to her roommate being the cool one in the family, ready to lend a shoulder and words of comfort to someone who was feeling blue, especially her. But now the tables had turned and it was Luan who needed to remain calm to comfort her big sister…but it was proving to be a tough challenge, for she too was starting to feel tears in her eyes, but for a different reason. In a world where she had very few friends, she had always felt a close connection to Luna, and to see her completely change into an unrecognizable popstar had been equivalent to saying goodbye to a best friend. Luan hadn't admitted it to anyone, but Luna's dramatic transformation had scared her to quite a degree.

But right now, she had to be strong. For Luna. She pulled her sister in for another hug; she felt her roommate quivering against her shoulder and it soon began to feel damp, but her sobs were almost silent. Luan closed her eyes, allowing a few tears of her own to escape.

It was clear that they both needed emotional support tonight.

Luan rubbed Luna's back soothingly and whispered softly into her ear, trying to calm her down. "It's okay. It's okay to cry. Ssshhhhh. I'm right here. I forgive you." With her voice so sweet and motions ever so slow, Luna began to relax, but her grip on Luan's shirt strengthened. So Luan eased her on to her bed, lying down so that they were more comfortable. Luna wept silently and all Luan did was hug her, continuing to whisper reassuring words that were nothing short of sweet, in hopes that they would do the trick to calm her down. How she had nothing to apologize for, to let it all out, and that she was right here for her. She spoke so faintly that no one would hear her except the girl in her arms, even with the house's paper-thin walls. At last, Luna wore herself out and her shaking ceased. She shifted herself slightly so that she could face her sister.

"I…I'm sorry you have to see me like this..." she sniffled, overcome with guilt and embarrassment. It was not a pleasant feeling at all.

"Hey, it's alright sis," Luan hummed as she stroked Luna's arm. She rolled over and quickly whisked out a couple of tissues from her bedside cabinet drawer. She rolled right on back to face her sister and hand them to her, watching Luna blow her nose and slowly clean herself up. "I think we both needed a good cry. But it's over now. You may have made a wrong turn earlier, but instead of continuing down the wrong road, you backtracked and went the right way in the end."

Her statement actually caught Luna a little off-guard. She never really thought that Luan could think that deeply. But in such a moment like this, she was glad that she could.

"Thanks, sis," she murmured, wiping the last tear away, her mouth curving a little. Luan grinned.

"Is that a smile I see?" she whispered playfully.

Luna tried to hold it back with little success. "No…?"

Luan giggled at her. "Oh, it definitely is." She bopped Luna on the tip of her nose, giggling again, and this time Luna joined her. She couldn't help it. Though Luan's puns and jokes were more often than not uncalled for and at the most inappropriate of times, her little sister undoubtedly had the power to make anyone laugh.

They shared a little laughter, which seemed to be in order for both of them. After settling down, Luna gazed at her little sister and smiled. Luan may be annoying, obnoxious, and sometimes questionable in the way she sometimes treated her and the rest of the family, crossing the line just one too many times, but Luna could see past what the world saw on the outside. Deep down, the Luan she knew was one of the kindest, sweetest girls she had ever met. A wholesome soul with a heart of gold. She loved her little sister to death and despite her imperfections (and sometimes dangerous actions) she always found herself feeling happiest with her. What had she done to deserve such a caring sister and friend?

She pushed a stray strand of hair away from Luan's face and pressed the gentlest of kisses upon her forehead out of thanksgiving and gratitude. She watched Luan blush faintly, and then smile. She loved Luan's smile. The younger girl rested her head comfortably upon Luna's chest and sighed deeply, wanting nothing more than to make sure her roommate was 100% okay. No words were spoken between them for the rest of the night; they instead cuddled together, concentrating on each other's breathing and enjoying each other's company. Luna's performance and now her crying had left the rocker feeling exhausted beyond the limit, but she also felt better now. Much better. Her once cloudy, confused mind was now clean and clear save for two items: one was to formally apologize to the rest of her family in the morning for her stupid actions and the other was that she had the most rockin' roommate ever. Among the many things she had learned tonight, the one lesson standing out to her right now was of a reminder of the comfort that she could always find within her little sister. There was only one Lulu in her life, but tonight, although brief, there had been two. Luna pushed the image of the pink-haired girl in the glittery show threads out of her mind as she began to nod off.

_Never again, _she thought triumphantly. _That Lulu is dead._

And at long last, Luna knew she was right back where she belonged.

* * *

This was where Luna's memories of the night ended…but Luan's extended a little further.

She lay awake for quite some time, just thinking. 'Lulu' had made these last few days unsettling for her, but thankfully it was over now, and her big sister Luna was back. The sounds of light snoring soon told her that Luna had dozed off. For one reason or another, as she gazed at her sister's sleeping form, her mind took her back to some of the many pranks she had pulled on her sister in the past and the nasty things she often told her through their various arguments, feeling a strong surge of guilt in the process. She only ever wanted to add a little fun to their lives, but looking back, humiliating Luna in front of her band mates and that large crowd last April didn't seem so funny. Heat-shocking her in the shower hadn't been very nice either and it had been a while before Luna could trust Luan enough to be in the bathroom at the same time. And despite all the verbal counter-attacks she had spat at Luna's face just to get even, she never really meant any of them. Now, as she lay her head upon her sister, whom she had almost lost to that song contest, she felt regret for all the times she had wronged her. Now that she knew how easily she could lose Luna, she didn't want to do anything that could potentially drive her away anymore.

The younger girl looked at her sister and smiled broadly, stroking the side of her body. "Sleep tight," she purred. Gingerly detangled her arms and legs from Luna's, she climbed out of her bed to turn off the light and prepare to sleep in the top bunk. While Luan generally wasn't a fan of heights, for Luna's sake she would do it. Just as she was about to climb the first rung of the ladder, she noticed that Luna was stirring in her sleep, moving her hand across the covers, as if searching for something…or someone. Luan's eyes widened.

_Me. She's looking for me._

_She needs me._

Not wanting Luna to be disturbed anymore tonight, Luan acted quickly, pushed by a sudden rush of sister-pride that stemmed from the fact that a sibling needed _her_ for once. Very few times had she ever been given this chance, with others like Lori, Leni, Luna, and Lincoln being worthier competitors. She crawled back into her bunk, taking Luan's hands into her own. This had an immediate effect on the purple-clad girl, calming her instantly. It was now evident that Luna needed her little sister tonight.

And honestly, Luan wanted Luna too.

So she decided to stay with her for the night. Pulling her pillow towards them, she shifted half of it under Luna's head while she took over the other. They may have been lying on top of the blanket, but it was summer and their combined body heat would be enough to keep them both warm. In the dim moonlight cast upon them, Luan watched her sleeping sister carefully, but for a few painful seconds, thought she saw 'Lulu' lying next to her. _No…no…go away! _she thought briskly, shutting her eyes tight. When she opened them, she was relieved to see Luna again. Desperately wanting to squeeze any fleeting glimpses of that pink-haired stardom out of her memory for good, she concentrated on the true Luna Loud. Her eyes followed along the outline of Luna's head, from her chin to her dark brown hair, cut short in a pixie-style. She gazed at Luna's long eyelashes and counted the freckles dotting her cheeks. Her eyeshadow may have been badly smudged, but there was still a hint of purple visible in the faint moonlight shining upon them. She breathed in Luna's sweet scent; even though the whole family used the same soap and shampoo, everybody had their own unique scent. Luna smelled like Luna.

Boarding with the family's musician for so long had allowed Luan to become quite accustomed to Luna's appearance, and her presence alone was comforting and assuring.

But even throughout their troubled times together, the heated arguments that arose between them over whose side of the closet was cutting into hers or who kept the other awake with their noisy habits, or even physical battles for the TV remote, there was one undeniable constant that never disappeared: Luan thoroughly enjoyed Luna's company.

And truth be told, she had gotten quite used to purple.

Luan thought back to tonight's events and felt a second little burst of pride, this time for her success in comforting Luna. That wasn't a task that she was well-versed in doing, and her usual methods of cheering anyone up involved jokes or a performance with Mr. Coconuts. None of her siblings typically came running to her when they were seeking comfort. But somehow, just having a shoulder to cry upon had been good enough for Luna. _I could get used to this, _she thought. She looked at her peaceful sister cuddled closely to her and smiled. _I could get used to this too. _

Hugging her big sister warmly, she laid her head against Luna's chest again, letting the steady sounds of a rhythmic heart beat charm her to peaceful slumber.

There were no more disturbances that night.

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_A/N: For those of you following along with my timeline, this 'story' happens chronologically BEFORE 'Mission Accomplished'. This is intended to be the very start of Luan's revelation of Luna's importance to her life, but dropped in such a subtle way that she isn't fully aware of this until it is solidified a month later when Luna leaves for her retreat, setting the stage for 'MA'._

_*GASP* the connections! Ah, whatever._

_Man, writing is fun. You should try it._


End file.
